Dana White isn’t as convinced about Khamzat Chimaev’s future in the UFC as he sounded just a couple of days ago.
2020 breakout star Khamzat Chimaev shocked the world when he kicked off the month of March with a retirement out of absolutely nowhere. He went from calling out Neil Magny for a June fight to throwing in the towel on his entire career within a 24-hour span. Dana White would step in as the cooler, assuring fans that Khamzat Chimaev is still very much an active fighter on the UFC roster and that Chimaev’s announcement to the contrary was merely an emotional reaction to the ongoing COVID complications he is battling.
During the UFC 259 pre-fight press conference, though, Dana White didn’t sound anywhere near as confident about the future of the undefeated prospect. On the contrary, he sounded outright clueless of what’s to come due to Chimaev’s headstrong approach to his recovery process.
“Listen, the reason we all love the kid and how he got a million followers in a couple of weeks on social media is that’s the type of fighters that fight fans like, that they like to watch, that they like to follow,” White said of Chimaev at the UFC 259 pre-fight press conference. “He likes to fight every weekend. The guy has some effects from having COVID, so he’s on very heavy medication. He’s supposed to be resting and relaxing. He’s not. He’s training like an animal.
“And what happened to him is what’s gonna happen if you don’t listen to the doctors,” White continued. So he needs to take time off. He needs to relax. He needs to heal. Then, he can come back and fight.
“I don’t know what he’s gonna do. We flew him out here to get him looked at. He’s a grown man. He can do whatever he wants. We’re trying to help him every way that we can, but he needs to chill out is what he needs to do.”
If it’s any consolation to White and all of Chimaev’s fans, the Head of the Chechen Republic has assured the world that he has talked “Borz” out of retirement, so there’s that.
Would you be surprised if we never saw Khamzat Chimaev compete again?